The Seal's Secret Heirs

“No, more like I’m a woman in a dark parking lot and I hear a man speaking to me unexpectedly.”

It was a perfectly legitimate thing to say except the streetlight spilled over her face, illuminating her scowl and negating her point about a dark parking lot. She was that bent up about him saying hey outside of a well-lit grocery store?

He raised a brow. “This is Royal. The most danger you’d find in the parking lot of the HEB is a runaway shopping cart.”

“You’ve been gone a long time, Kyle. Things have changed.”

Yeah, more than he’d have liked. Grace’s voice had deepened. It was far sexier than he’d recalled, and he’d thought about her a lot. Her curves were lusher, as if she’d gained a few pounds in all the right places, and he had an unexpected urge to pull her against him so he could explore every last change, hands on.

Okay, the way he constantly wanted her? That was still the same. He’d always been crazy over her. She’d been an exercise in patience, making him wait until they’d been dating a year and she’d turned eighteen before she’d sleep with him the first time. And that had been so mind-blowing, he’d immediately started working on the second encounter, then the third. And so on.

The fact that he’d fallen in love with her along the way was the craziest thing. He didn’t make it a habit to let people in. She’d been an exception, one he hadn’t been able to help.

“You haven’t changed,” he said without thinking. “You’re still the prettiest girl in the whole town.”

Now why had he gone and said something like that? Just because it was true didn’t mean he should run off at the mouth. Last thing he needed was to give her the slightest opening. She’d slide right under his skin again, just as she’d done the first time, as if his barriers against people who might hurt him didn’t exist.

“Flattery?” She rolled her eyes. “That was a lame line. Plus, I already told you I’d handle your case impartially. There’s no point in trying to butter me up.”

Oh, so she thought she was immune to his charm, did she? He grinned and shifted his weight off his bad leg, cocking his right hip out casually as if he’d meant to strike that stance all along. “I wouldn’t dream of it. That was the God-honest truth. I’ve been around the world, and I know a thing or two about attractive women. No law against telling one so.”

“Well, I don’t like it. Are you really that clueless, Kyle?”

The scowl crawled back onto her face and it tripped his Spidey-sense. Or at least that’s what he’d always called it. He’d discovered in SEAL training that he had no small amount of skill in reading a situation or a person. Before then, he’d spent a lot of time by himself—purposefully—and never paid much attention to people’s tells. Honing that ability had served him well in hostile territory.

So he could easily see Grace was mad. At him.

What was that all about? She was the one who’d dumped him cold with no explanation other than she wanted to concentrate on school, which was bull. She’d been a straight-A student before they’d started dating and maintained her grade point average until the day she graduated a year after he had. Best he could figure, she’d wanted Liam instead and hadn’t wasted any time getting with his brother once she was free and clear.

“You got something to say, Grace?” He crossed his arms and leaned against her four-door sedan. “Seems like you got a bee in your bonnet.”

Maybe Liam had thrown her over too quickly and she’d lumped her hurt feelings into a big Wade bucket. And now he was giving her a second shot to spill it. He just wanted her to admit she’d hurt him and then say she was sorry. That she’d picked the wrong brother when she’d hooked up with Liam. Then maybe he could go on and meet someone new and exciting who didn’t constantly remind him that Kyle, women and relationships didn’t mix well. Maybe he’d even find a way to trust a woman again. He could finally move on from Grace Haines.

She licked her lips and stared at the sky over his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m not handling this well. The babies are important to me. All my cases are, but because we used to date, I want to ensure there’s no hint of impropriety. All the decisions I make should be based on facts and your ability to provide a good home. So please don’t say things like you think I’m pretty.”

Something that felt a lot like disappointment whacked him between the eyes. She had yet to mention the episode with Liam. Maybe she didn’t even know that Kyle had seen them together, or didn’t care. No, he’d never said anything to her about it, either, because some things should be obvious. You didn’t fool around with a guy’s brother. It was a universal law and if he had to spell that out, Grace wasn’t as great a girl as he’d always thought.

“Well, then,” Kyle said easily. “Maybe you should transfer my case to someone else in the county, so you don’t have to deal with my brand of truth.”

She probably didn’t even remember what she’d done with Liam and most likely thought Kyle had moved on. He should have moved on. It was way past time.

She shook her head. “Can’t. We’re overloaded. So we’re stuck with each other.”

Which meant she’d checked into it. That was somehow more disappointing than her skipping over the apology he was owed.

No matter.

Grace was just a woman he used to date. That’s all. There was nothing between them any longer. He’d spent years shutting down everything inside and he’d keep on doing it. Nothing new here.

And she had his babies and their future in the palm of her hand. This was the one person he needed on his side. They could both stand to act like adults about this situation and focus on what was good for the children. It would be a good idea to do exactly as he suggested to her and let bygones be bygones. Even though he hadn’t meant a word of it at the time.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, too. Let’s start over, friendly-like.” He held out his hand for her to shake.

She hesitated for an eternity and then reached out to take it.

The contact sang through his palm, setting off all kinds of fireworks in places that had been cold and dark for a really long time. Gripping his hand tight, she met his gaze and held it.

The depths of her brown eyes heated, melting a little of the ice in his heart.

Her mouth would be sweet under his, and her skin would be soft and fragrant. The moon had risen, spilling silver light over the parking lot, and the gentle breeze played with her hair. The atmosphere couldn’t be more romantic if he’d ordered it up. He barely resisted yanking her into his arms.

Yeah, he was in a lot of trouble if he was supposed to keep this friendly and impartial. She was his babies’ caseworker. But the fact of the matter was that he had never gotten over Grace Haines. He could no sooner shut down his feelings about her than he could pick up her Toyota with one hand. And being around her again was pure torture.

* * *

The next morning, Kyle woke at dawn the way he always did. He’d weaned himself off an alarm clock about two weeks into BUD/S training and hadn’t ever gone back.

He lay there staring at the ceiling of his old room at Wade House. Reorientation time. Not a SEAL. Not in Afghanistan. Not in the hospital—which had been its own kind of nightmare. This was the hardest part of the day. Every morning, he took stock, so he’d know who and where he was. Then he thanked God for the opportunity to serve his country and cursed the evil that had required it.

This was also the time of day when he made the decision to leave the pain pills in the bottle, where they belonged.

Some days, that decision was tougher than others. There was a deep, dark place inside that craved the oblivion the drugs would surely bring. That’s why he’d never cracked open the seal on the bottle. Too easy to have a mental slip and think just this once. That was cheating, and Kyle had never taken that route.

Today would not mark the start of it, either.

Today did mark the start of something, though. A new kind of taking stock about the things he was instead of the things he wasn’t. A father. A cattle rancher. He liked the sound of that. It was nice to have some positives to call out. He needed positives after six months of hell.

Of course, Grace would be watching over his shoulder, and Liam was going to be smack in the middle of Kyle’s steps toward fatherhood and ranching. The two people he distrusted the most and both held the keys to his future.

He rolled from bed and pulled on a new long-sleeved shirt, jeans and boots. Eventually, his wardrobe would be work-worn like Liam’s, but for now, he’d have to settle for looking like a rhinestone cowboy instead of a real one. Coffee beckoned, so he took the back stairway from the third floor to the ground floor kitchen, albeit a bit more slowly than he’d have liked.

Hadley had beaten him to the coffeepot and turned with a smile when he entered. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

“Fine,” he lied. He’d lain awake far too long thinking about how this woman and his brother wanted to take his kids away. “And you?”

“Great. The babies only woke up once and thankfully at the same time. It’s not always like that. Sometimes they wake up all night long at intervals.” She laughed good-naturedly and lowered her voice. “I think they plan it out ahead of time just to make me nuts.”

Guilt crushed Kyle’s lungs and he struggled to breathe. Some father he was. They’d agreed the night before that Hadley would continue in her role as Maddie and Maggie’s caretaker until Kyle got his feet under him, but it didn’t feel any more right this morning than it had then. His sister-in-law was getting up in the middle of the night with his kids, scant hours after he gave Liam and Grace a big speech about how he was all prepared to step up and provide a loving environment.

No more.

“I appreciate what you’re doing for my daughters,” he rasped, and cleared his throat. “But I want to take care of them from now on. I’ll get up with them at night.”

Hadley stared at him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, do you?”

“Uh, well...” Should he brazen it out or admit defeat? God Almighty, he hated admitting any kind of weakness. But chances were good she’d already figured out he wasn’t the brightest bulb on the board when it came to babies. “I’m going to learn. Trial by fire is how I operate best.”

“They’re not going to pull out AK-47s, Kyle.” Hadley hid a smile but not very well and handed him a cup of steaming coffee. “Sugar and creamer are on the table.”